Dr. Vidya Jain
 | 8th International Conference on Peace and Nonviolent Action |
Sustainable Development and Peace
If we look at the balance sheet of development and human well-being, of achievements and deficits, of profit and people, of power and poverty, of global over-class and local under-class, of masculinity and femininity and above all of global village and fractured civilization a disastrous picture of the world order emerges. The basic nature of the cosmic (=ordered) world - Truth, Beauty and Goodness - is shattered.
The liberalization of trade has led the way to enslavement of people. The industrial - technological development, military supremacy, cultural hegemony, dehumanizing, competition, commodification and commercialization have endangered the very existence of human souls and Mother Nature. Today, the world is composed of solitary individuals and big markets. The world is a world without families, neighborhoods, communities, towns and even nations.
The World Bank and IMF have imposed structural adjustments and social policies on developing countries seeking their aid. Globalization has led to an intensification of international competition. Actually globalization is dividing the already divided world and establishing a dual world. On the one hand it is creating the most immense riches in the hands of the elite and on the other it means destitution and deprivation for those dislocated from it. It is true that such a dual world always existed. However, what is new and different is the extent of the gap, and the speed with which both poverty and prosperity are being created. Globalization, on the one hand means unlimited opportunities for those in a position to take advantage of them and on the other, by creating destitution for those utterly unequipped to survive in the global world.
In this era of global crisis, which is in fact a civilizational crisis, many contradictions emerge like production of weapon of mass destruction, unjust social order, destruction of nature and structural violence of absolute and relative poverty. In this hegemonistic paradigm of development there is no place for poor, weak, farmer, worker and woman. If we want to break this trinity of poverty, powerlessness and patriarchy we have to rethink and reclaim the Gandhian model of sustainable development, or better call it ‘the Peace Paradigm’.
Sustainability represents an approach to development which addresses the fundamental concerns of environment, equality and democracy. In the 21st century, the pursuit of lasting peace and an end to conflict has become, together with sustainable development, a global imperative.
During the twentieth century, man made tremendous strides in the fields of space research, nuclear energy, several branches of medical and biological sciences and many other fields of education. However this progress did not lead to progress or harmony in human relations. On the contrary, it seems to have led to conflicts in the name of peace and security. It has to be realized that in view of the spectacular progress made in the field of science and technology, more attention will have to be paid to the adoption of an appropriate method of imparting knowledge and skill.
While the link between development and peace has been frequently examined, the results of its examination remain largely inconclusive, although it might appear intuitive that meeting the basic needs of poor communities holds the promise of eliminating adverse situations which precipitate conflicts.
The concept or sustainable development modifies this relationship considerably. The 1992 Rio Declaration, presented at the United Nations’ Conference on Environment and Development, asserted under Principle 25 that: “Peace. development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible”. In other words, the idea of peace forms an integral part of the idea of sustainable development. In fact. the culture of peace requires economic development to be based on “sustainable human development for all.” Social development, social justice and the eradication of poverty are indispensable, which also includes the preservation of our environment.
There are contestations and contentions to the whole environmental debate and the continuing puzzle of underdevelopment which have an impact on the way we think about growth and progress. Today there is a general recognition of the need to modify our approach to development, even without taking into consideration the more difficult question of how future generations will cope with our legacy of’ population growth, expanding energy consumption and the inevitable depletion of vital natural resources. Whether confronting the challenges of the present or the future, a new approach to development is a necessity, which requires a real revolution in our behavior and mentality.
Unless our life style is subjected to considerable re-evaluation, including the adoption of far-reaching self-control regarding the satisfaction not of real wants but of self-gratifying desires. The emphasis on ecology could become yet another intensifier of the conflict between the rich and the poor.
Development debate
Development is a major subject of debate in contemporary times because of the tremendous impact it has in terms of its consequences over the socio-economic lives of the people in general and political destiny of the nation-states in particular. As a major objective of the nation-states, developmental pursuits have generated more problems and controversies than solutions and reconciliations, thereby throwing challenges of evolving and creating alternative models of development. The vision of creating an ideal society based on equity and justice through the implementation of developmental goals is often confronted with problems of conflicting interests, which finally degenerates into violent manifestations.
There is an inescapable need to conceptualize development both as a means as well as an end to achieve the larger objective of a peaceful, stable and just socio-economic and political order. No fruitful economic development can be realized in an atmosphere of conflict and violence, which are inherent in a society, characterized by inequality, discrimination and deprivation. Therefore, if true developmental goals are to be achieved, a peaceful non-violent socio-political order has to be created, which includes removal of social inequalities, maintaining communal harmony, giving women their due share in every sphere and ensuring peoples participation in the development processes. If we achieve these goals in the social, political and economic spheres through good governance then we are creating an environment of peace and harmony which essentially forms the cornerstone of Gandhian dream of Swaraj (Self - Rule)
The process of reinventing governance has stumbled upon a desired alternative, which seems to be have a greater degree of conformity with a model of development that promotes inclusive growth and decentralized development. The purpose of this approach is to achieve the objective of promoting culture of peace and democracy, which is the inescapable need of the hour to facilitate any meaningful agenda of economic progress in the society.
While searching for an alternative paradigm in India, the Gandhian model of development within the framework of a democratic political structure seems to be having a logical correlation with this new approach.
Gandhi envisaged social change in India through the social reconstruction programs that evolved from his experiences and experiments. He touched the inner core of the Indian society through his spiritual approach which is premised on communal harmony. According to him, the whole world relies on technology, science, education and administrative systems, but not on goodness of the people.
He therefore advocated for strong and vibrant local communities which would facilitate the regeneration of Indian society and culture. These village communities based on decentralization would train people in the art of collective solidarity and cooperative action. He therefore desired to provide full powers to the village communities so that they can be self-sustaining and capable of managing their affairs. Panchayats (Local self Government) would be a flexible response to social requirements and could be a link in social groupings or organization around the concepts of autonomy and cooperation. Gandhi therefore pleaded that these panchayats should be given full powers to make them meaningful for the rural population and empower them to play a greater role in developing infrastructure and generating rural livelihoods.
Sustainable development: A basic human right
Sustainable development is a basic human right and unless this is realized humanity cannot survive. Sustainable development is a primary concern of human existence, which means an egalitarian community that ensures an equal sharing of resources and opportunities for sustained human welfare. The concept of sustainable development aims to address the current problems of poverty, inequality, discrimination and environmental degradation, looking after the interests of both the present and future generations. However, the developing countries are in a serious dilemma.
On the one hand, they are encouraged to industrialize as quickly as possible in an attempt to catch up with the industrialized countries, and on the other hand, they are asked to reduce emissions and preserve natural resources.
This implies a new approach to the growth process: raising consciousness in participation and compatibility policies of economic development policies, not only with environmental preservation but also with natural and social resources. In short, sustainable development means a new way of doing politics, covering basic human needs and creating well-paid jobs in an environmental friendly production system. This implies a different productive process, the awareness towards a new growth model with active participation of the society. A rational and efficient management of natural resources allows enormous energetic savings, alternative sources of energy, technological advances in the saving and conservation and energy management of solid and liquid wastes etc.
Gandhi’s model of self-sustenance
The Present ecological crisis is a direct consequence of man’s inability to rise to the level of understanding and responsibility demanded by his new power role in the world. Findings of professor Schumacher and a host of other technologists and ecologists have reinforced the basic validity of Gandhi’s approach. Mulling over points time and again that one becomes progressively conscious of man’s inability to rise to the level of understanding. The problem is within man, not outside him, and so is any solution. And this is precisely what Gandhi emphasized. Human beings will have to realize that a way of life that rapidly depletes the power of earth can only be called violent. Man’s urgent task is to follow a non-violent way of life. It is a concept that needs to be widened to combat how humans deal with living nature around him and with the limited and finite resources of nature.
So, it is clear that the development strategies in the majority of the third world countries borrowed from the ‘affluent countries’, and based on high technology and capital intensive industries, resource depletion and unmindful of distributive justice and the need for the amelioration of the conditions of masses and high consumption and domination by a centralized and organized elite, are utterly incapable of delivering the goods. There is, therefore, an urgent need for a new alternative model of development, conservation, production, labour intensive production, equitable distribution. Such is the order of the society that Gandhi conceived.
Thus there is no other avenue, but man has to explore himself - his goal and values as much as he seeks the world to change. There must be unending commitment to ensure that man will survive without falling into a state of worthless existence. More and more people all over the world should look for the ways to redirect the ecological system “as if people mattered.”
The influence of Gandhi on the course of human history is almost without a parallel. His love for humanity and non-violence, his technique for Satyagraha, his concept of limiting wants and sustaining nature and resources, his plea for decentralization of economic and political power, his concept of self-rules, his emphasis on humanized science and technology with a human face and his belief in the moral evolution of man, have all continued to influence the thinking and actions of men all over the world. Gandhi advocated a moral society which alone can survive and succeed in the evolution of mankind in the long run.
Biodiversity needs political plurality for its conservation and development. Therefore participation and plurality are synonyms of democracy and sustainable development, which in itself is a democratic process. The need today is to reinvent a positive, an inclusive, a generous model of development, to build and renew confidence in our abilities, and to find solutions with our own resources and talents. There will be no security or sustainability unless we adopt Swadeshi - self-organization. Gandhi gave us thoughts on sustainable living which are more valid than ever before. Gandhian economy demands a very civilized society that understands and respects nature and look at development from the perspective of self-sustenance.
Gandhi’s analysis of macro processes of economic development, his prescriptions for rural reconstruction and his ethics for living, if interpreted in contemporary terms offer acute insights into the environmental crisis of today. Gandhi’s philosophical critiques of today’s civilization has profound implications for the way we live and relate to environment today. For him, the distinguishing characteristic of modern civilization is an indefinite multiplicity of wants, whereas ancient civilizations were marked by imperative restrictions upon, and a strict regulating of, these wants.
Gandhi highlighted the ills of urban-industrial development and centered economic development on the village. He wished, above all, to see that the blood that is today inflating the arteries of the cities run once again in the blood vessels of the villages. Decentralization of economic and political power is important so that villages can resume control over their own affairs.
At an individual level Gandhi’s code of voluntary simplicity offers a sustainable alternative to modern life styles. ‘The world has enough for every body’s need but not enough for anybody’s greed’, is in fact one line phrase of environmental ethics. Unless people subscribe to the vision of self-sustenance and link with nature, the Gandhian paradigm would remain an utopia. This is Swadeshi.
Swadeshi is a complete philosophy, it stand for a distinctive attitude toward politics and society. It is not a creed. It is a particular standpoint; it is a philosophy of life and a code of conduct. The essence of liberalism is self preference; its practice thereby is exploitative in nature. It is exploitative of the village by city, of man by machine and of nature by science and technology.
Swadeshi is an anti-colonial concept. It refers to the structures of power which colonize both externally and internally. It is search for our own identities. Like individuals, communities and nations too have their own identity. Global economies have no concern for the local identities, the continuality, the ecology, style of life, experience and indigenous skills.
Swadeshi is the key concept in Gandhi’s philosophy. It is not merely an economic doctrine but also has ideological implication, In Swadeshi, Gandhi not only envisaged economic salvation of India but also found an answer to psychological and political problems. According to Gandhi, “that economics stands for social justice, it promotes the good of all equally, including the weakest, and is indefensible for decent life”
Swadeshi is the search for our nation’s identity. Gandhi says, “My nationalism is as broad as my Swadeshi. I want India’s rise so that the whole world may benefit. I do not want India to rise on the ruin of other nations.” He says further “No nation on earth has risen without adopting Swadeshi as the principal of life.” For Gandhi Swadeshi was positive concept based on building what a community has in term of resources, institution and structures. Imposed resources, Institution and structures leave people unfree and non-sustainable. Swadeshi for Gandhi was central to the creation of peace, freedom and sustainable development. Swadeshi or self-organization in economic affairs is the basis of economic freedom, without which there can be no political freedom of self-rule. Swadeshi is Swaraj, self-rule
The Gandhian macro model of the society is consistent with the micro model he sets for an individual. Gandhian model of individual behavior has greatest potential to bring a socio-economic order that has better potential for moving towards sustainable societies. It is interesting to note that a set of self regulated individuals, not only feel liberated, but also simultaneously help build a sustainable society that requires least governance and eminently takes care of the ecological questions. The civilization in the real sense consist not only in multiplication but in the deliberate and voluntary reduction of wants. Human problems cannot be overcome with more goods or even more equitable distribution of goods but with voluntary poverty, simplicity and slowness.
The world is not just a world of conflicts and wars, of greed and hatred, of possession and waste. More people live in peace and harmony, more people follow the dictum of simple living and high thinking than those who lead luxuries life styles. “Adopt a simple life so that others can simply live. We should have no doubt that less is more and to live simply by choice is the best way to live”.
The Gandhian vision of the 21st century is that of a world without greed, war and violence. Gandhi rebelled against the destruction of human lives caused by wars. Being a votary of Ahimsa (Non-violence), he not only believed war to be wholly unrighteous but also tried to resist it with all his might. Though he unceasingly pleaded for peace, he did not believe in peace at any cost. Peace for Gandhi was inextricably connected with justice and freedom from exploitation.
Our mindless destruction of natural wealth is so alarming that we are already on the path of an ecological disaster. The best way to prevent this catastrophe is to try not to manipulate nature but to search for a way that would fit in with great processes of nature. Gandhi said: “I venture to suggest it is the fundamental law of nature, without exception that nature produces enough for our wants from day to day and if everyone took enough for him and nothing more, there would be no pauperism in the world.” It is this aspect of Gandhian vision that can be inducted in peace education for sustainable development.
The true aim of peace education, according to Gandhi, is ‘enlargement and enlightenment of mind or the stimulation of the physical, intellectual and spiritual faculties of the children. A truly educated man is one who has learnt to control his passions and lead a life of restraint. His views have been substantiated by modern western thinkers like Sir John Adams who held the view that peace education is preparation for complete living by perfect citizenship and harmonious development of all faculties.
While the link between development and peace has been frequently examined, the results of its examination remain largely inconclusive. Although it might appear intuitive that meeting the basic needs of poor communities holds the promise of eliminating adverse situations which precipitate conflicts, in many cases development can be shown to contribute to or benefit from the existence of possibility of armed conflicts.
Gandhi and other well known educationists of the world agreed that the aim of education must be character building or developing wisdom, and the capability of differentiating between right and wrong and appreciating the importance of non-violence in peace education. In some of the old systems of education the emphasis was on military training; in the twentieth century there was emphasis on technical knowledge. While doing so, not enough attention was paid to qualities of the heart like love, compassion, fellow feeling the Gandhi emphasized upon in his scheme of Basic Education (Noai Taleem). An Ideal society as visualized by Gandhi is a harmonious community based not on clod and cruel competition but on co-operation and mutual aid. Peace education is looked upon by Mahatma Gandhi as a means for the establishment of a society based on equality and social justice.
In Gandhi’s scheme of peace education and sustainable development, it is observed that he believed in creation of a new and integrated man wedded not to lesser loyalties of the nation or community but to world peace and universal brotherhood for establishment of a new world order. He offered an alternative life-style, an alternative world vision and a viable set of strategies and methods for societal transformation. Peace and stability by invoking the infinite power of non-violence.
Peace education creates a culture of peace, helping to build a non-violent and just society and is essential for survival of human species on this earth. As we all work towards a better future, this overarching goal has allowed peace education to manifest in a multidisciplinary way, yet retain its core characteristics. These sub-fields or co-disciplines, take different conceptual and methodological approaches, from anti-nuclear efforts to inter-religious dialogue, but fall under the umbrella of peace education because of their shared purposes.
In the past few decades the idea of global security within peace education has extended to that of ecological security as environmental issues give rise to actual and potential international conflict. Thus, an emerging and more accepted pedagogy has embraced the holistic nature of ecological thinking and learning that underscores the idea of inter-connectedness and co-operation.
New ecological thinking instinctively understands the holistic nature of peace and ecological education. It develops the ability to comprehend and analyze integrally the processes going on in the natural environment, taking into account the current political situation and economic situation. To achieve peace and security, ecological education for peace and social responsibility must incorporate formal and non-formal learning opportunities. This approach highlights the value and benefit of participatory and experiential learning to enable children and youth to understand at a deeper level the integral dimensions of peace social responsibility and ecological security.
The framework of peace education and its co-disciplines - including environmental and ecological education - introduces the emerging call for and acceptance of peace pedagogy that sees learning as a collective process aimed at empowering and creating agents of change.
Realizing the importance of developing an integrated personality of the child, Gandhi evolved the system of Basic Education which aimed at developing not merely the qualities of the head but also the qualities of the heart, and of the hand through training in crafts. Today. there is more and more realization that along with science based education, there is need for value-oriented peace education at all stages for human sustenance. Also, in view of the explosion in information technology that has affected human life in all its aspects, care will have to be taken to see that modern methods and techniques of education are adopted and utilized not only for acquiring new knowledge but also for preserving all that is good and useful in the traditional value system.
Gandhi and other well known educationists of the world agreed that the aim of education must be character building or developing wisdom and the capability of differentiating between right and wrong and appreciating the importance of non-violence. In Gandhi’s scheme of peace education and sustainable development, it is observed that he believed in creation of a new and integrated man wedded not to lesser loyalties of nation or community but to world peace and universal brotherhood for establishment of a new world order. He offered an alternative life-style, alternative world vision and a viable set of strategies and methods for societal transformation, peace and stability by invoking the infinite power of non-violence.
We will look at the intersection between peace and environment education. Both peace and environmental educators have a common goal of stopping violence, though in human communities there will always be conflicts. The challenge is to learn to resolve conflicts non-violently, to share limited resources equitably and to live within the limits of sustainability.
Peace education
New ecological thinking instinctively understands the holistic nature of peace and ecological education. It develops the ability to comprehend and analyze integrally the processes going on in the natural environment, taking into account the current political situation and economic situations. To achieve peace and security, ecological education for peace and social responsibility must incorporate formal and non-formal learning opportunities. This approach highlights the value and benefit of participatory and experiential learning to enable children and youth to understand at a deeper level the integral dimensions of peace, social responsibility and ecological security.
The framework of peace education and its co-disciplines - including environmental and ecological education - introduces the emerging call for and acceptance of peace pedagogy that sees learning as a collective process aimed at empowering and creating agents of change.
Promote understanding of the intersection between peace education and ecological education.
Develop orientation towards new ecological thinking which dwells on the holistic nature of peace and sustainable development.
Look at the framework of peace education and peace studies which articulate the Gandhian perspective of non-violent sustainable development.
A sustainable human being can only build sustainable society. Practice of aswada (control over palate), asteya (mon-stealing), aparigraha (being trustee to the wealth), physical labor and ahimsa (nonviolence) and interacting with others at micro level would answer the main problems relating to aggregate demands, monopolistic practices, abnormal profit propriations and ecological disasters. Gandhian model of individual behavior has greatest potential to bring a just socio-economic order.
How can such individual behavior be ensured? How does the individual redesign his role as a change-maker and not just as a beneficiary of the development. This is possible only through the radical change in an education system on Gandhian lines. The educational agenda should aim at creating ‘culture of peace’ in favor of life, personal realization, solidarity, happiness and harmony between humankind and nature. These different education programs, methods and resources can be grouped under the broad heading of peace education.
This includes human rights, environmental education, security and disarmament, conflict resolution, critical media awareness, gender studies, world citizenship and above all Gandhian studies.
By furthering Gandhian studies a transformation in the mindset of young students is possible. A change in their character is bound to follow.
These young students would be the peace soldiers, the green change makers of tomorrow.